Mom is Back - the story of Peg
by Brenna R. Ollivander
Summary: After nearly a decade alone, Professor Membrane receives a phone call that will change his life. How will Dib and Gaz react to the stranger that has just re-entered their lives???
1. The Call

This is my first attempt at a real fanfic. I apologize in advance for my short chapters! I also wanted to give credits to DibsLyn, who gave me the inspiration for most parts of this story.

P.S. I could use some feedback!!!

I make no claims to the IZ characters. They are property of the one and only JHONEN VASQUEZ.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

So far, it had been a good day. It was a beautiful Saturday and naturally neither children in the Membrane household had taken advantage of it. But, today was also good in other ways. No fundraisers, no Ms. Bitters' constant ramblings on the eventual doom of the human race, and no crazy Irkens named Zim making plots to take over he Earth. Of course, the day was ONLY half over.

As usual, Gaz Membrane sat on one end of the couch, moving her fingers madly over the buttons on her GAME SLAVE 2. She had a look of deep concentration on her face as she obliterated blood pig after blood pig. This, of course, made the day fly by almost unnoticed. The sight of flaming blood pigs flying across the screen would speed up the day for any other GS2 player as well.

Dib Membrane wondered into the living room, with a look of suspicion on his face. He slicked back his pointy hair (which bounced back rebelliously), just as the phone rang. He paused and looked at Gaz, who didn't appear to have an ambition to go for the phone. Dib began to walk cautiously towards the other side of the couch where the phone sat. He hadn't taken two steps when Gaz's boot clad leg shot out in front of him.

"AAAAHHHHH!" Dib screamed, as he fell flat on his face. Gaz, without looking up from her GS2, gave a demonic chuckle as she stepped on her brother's head on her way to the phone. "Ow! My brain!" yelled Dib painfully.

"Whiner," said Gaz, still concentrating on VAMPIRE PIGGY HUNTERS. Without looking up from her GS2, Gaz picked up the phone. "Yeah?" 

There was a slight pause. Gaz growled slightly. "Hello? Anyone there? There'd better be, I'm nearly dead because of you. . ."

"What!?" exclaimed a female voice on the other line.

"My GAME SLAVE," said Gaz offhandedly, although that female voice had suddenly struck her as a familiar one, maybe from her distant past. 

"Oh." There was more silence, well, apart from Dib shouting; "Who is it? Are they from MYSTERIOUS MYSTERIES? I won! I won! WWWOOOOO HHHOOO!" and running around the couch trying to take the phone away from Gaz.

"Gimme the phone!" said Dib, grabbing madly for the phone. Annoyed, Gaz made several kicking attempts before finally hitting her target. Dib fell to the floor, writhing in pain. 

"Is everything ok over there?" asked the somewhat confused female voice. 

"Yeah," said Gaz, still playing her GS2, "Dib's just being weird again." She glanced over at her brother as he fought against the pain in his groin just to sit up properly. Gaz smiled as she watched Dib get up off the ground wincing and sit uncomfortably on the couch.

"Oh, well, that's good," said the voice happily. Gaz could almost hear the woman smiling although her last statement was followed by more silence. 

"Well, is there any particular reason you called?" asked Gaz with a hint aggravation in her voice.

"Uh, yes," said the voice as if it had regained its train of thought, "I was wondering if Professor Membrane lived here?"

"Yeah, he does," said Gaz.

"May I speak to him?'

"Sure."

Without looking up, Gaz began to yell. "Dad! Phone for you!"

Seconds later, Professor Membrane appeared in the doorway leading into the living room from the kitchen. By the looks of the black smudges all over his long white lab coat, he'd obviously had been down in his lab working on God knows what!

"Who might that be, daughter?" asked Prof. Membrane in his usual goofy manner. 

Gaz shrugged her shoulders. "Dunno, but her voice sounds vaguely familiar," said Gaz.

Prof. Membrane crossed the room and took the phone away from Gaz. "Hello?" he said into the receiver. There was a moments pause before he said hello into the phone one more time. He heard a click and then he too shrugged his shoulders as he hung up the phone.

"Who was that?" asked Dib, wincing slightly.

"I don't know," said the Prof., "They hung up!" With that, he turned and went thru the kitchen and into his lab to continue his work.

Gaz turned off her GS2 and joined Dib on the couch. Dib, who had mostly recovered from his injury, picked up the tv remote and turned on the tv. When the screen flickered on, a commercial of a mother playing with her two children appeared. Dib looked longingly at the screen. "I wonder what ever happened to _our_ mom?" he thought aloud.

A wave of sadness mixed with anger washed over Gaz. She'd forced thoughts of the absence of her mother out of her mind long ago and in a matter of seconds they had returned. These thoughts of longing almost broke through the hardened look that usually masked her face. Immediately she mentally beat herself up for thinking this. There was no use wishing for something that would never happen, she thought. "We used to have a mom, didn't we?" replied Gaz coldly as she glared at the tv. . . .

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

This is kinda a short chapter, but chapter two will DEFINATLY be longer. Stay tuned!


	2. A Knock at the Door

Note: I make no claims to the IZ characters. They are property of the one and only JHONEN VASQUEZ.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Chapter Two

A Knock at the Door

"DIB!" yelled Gaz with fury as she slammed the refrigerator door shut, "Where's the last slice of pizza!?"

Her brother sauntered into the kitchen, holding a large slice of pizza dripping with cheese. As he sat down at the kitchen table, he took a big bite out of it. "I'm eating it," Dib said through a mouthful of cheese.

_So much for my dinner,_ thought Gaz, _Well, if I can't eat the pizza, I at least can nark on Dib for taking it_. "DAD!" yelled Gaz down the stairs leading toward the laboratory. Within seconds, Professor Membrane answered.

"What's wrong, daughter?" the Professor called up the stairs in his usual tone.

"Dib's eating all the food." He didn't answer. Instead, he came upstairs. "Dib's eating all the food!" Gaz repeated as her father came to the top of the staircase, "Punish him."

"Now, now, no need for that!" replied Prof. Membrane. He thought for a moment. "Why don't cook a real meal tonight? We always have it delivered and we haven't spent much time together lately." Gaz raised an eyebrow at Prof. Membrane. He had never suggested anything like this before. She shrugged it off and took a seat adjacent to Dib, who quickly finished off his slice of pizza.

Prof. Membrane walked over to the pantry and opened its doors. "Hmmm . . ." he pondered. He looked into the open pantry looking for ideas for dinner. After a moment, he pulled out a box of uncooked spaghetti noodles, and a jar of tomato sauce. "How about spaghetti?" said Prof. Membrane cheerily. He sat it down on the counter and then headed for the pot rack above the stove and pulled down a saucepan and a cooking pot.

As Prof. Membrane filled the cooking pot with water, Dib leaned over to his sister. "Dad's gone crazy, hasn't he?" he whispered. Gaz nodded as she raised her eyebrow up at her father.

"At least we get to see him tonight," she whispered back. Dib shrugged and walked over the refrigerator/freezer and opened up the freezer door. Gaz soon followed him. As she pulled out a bag of frozen meatballs, Dib pulled out a bag of breadsticks. After glancing at the expiration date, he suddenly felt better his father came up with the idea to cook dinner that night

For the next half-hour Dib, Gaz, and Prof. Membrane worked together as a family fixing their diner. No fights broke out, and Dib even thought he saw Gaz break down and smile once. Maybe twice. Soon, however, their efforts paid off as the wondrous smell of spaghetti and meatballs filled the house. Quickly the table was adorned with plates, forks, and knifes. Just as the napkins were being laid down and the breadsticks being placed on the table, their came three quick knocks at the door. Gaz quickly sat down the rest of the napkins and went to answer the door, wondering who it could be.

When Gaz opened the door, she was greeted by a woman in her late twenties or early thirties. She had red hair that reached just above her shoulders and glasses with silver, oval rims framed her brown eyes. A high collar, black, leather trenchcoat was worn over an emerald green, turtleneck sweater, a grey skirt, and purple leggings. The black trenchcoat fell just above a pair of glossy black boots that went halfway up her calf.

"Hello?" said Gaz uncertainly as she looked up at the stranger with an odd expression upon her face. The woman immediately smiled at her and reached out a black gloved hand as if to touch her, but drew back at the last second.

"Um," said the woman, wringing her hands awkwardly, "Is your father home?" 

"Uh, yeah," said Gaz still clutching the doorknob. She turned around and faced the kitchen. "Dad! Someone at the door for you!"

Dib emerged from the kitchen doorway first. "Who is it?" asked Dib, looking up at the stranger. Gaz shrugged as Prof. Membrane came out of the kitchen.

"Yes, who is. . ." started Prof. Membrane. Then he spotted the woman in the doorway, immediately recognizing her. "Peg?" he asked after a pause. The woman nodded. For a moment, they stared at each other in awe, then at a sudden impulse, Prof. Membrane quickly crossed the room and the two adults embraced each other. Neither Dib nor Gaz could tell what was said, but Prof. Membrane whispered something into Peg's ear. They let go of each other and he ushered her in and closed the door behind her.

Dib looked suspiciously at the woman as if she were an alien, but Gaz just gave her a blank yet defiant stare. She was hiding her true feelings though. To her this woman, Peg as her father had called her, was a stranger but Prof. Membrane had greeted her warmly.

"We're having dinner," said Prof. Membrane, gesturing towards the kitchen, "Want some?"

"Uh, sure," Peg said somewhat uncertainly. Prof. Membrane took her arm and led her to the kitchen table. Dib and Gaz followed behind them in a state of confusion.

Once in the kitchen, Prof. Membrane quickly set up another place setting at the table where the empty chair sat. Smiling, Peg sat down and soon, everyone followed and they began to eat. They got thru the meal by making nervous small talk, with periods of awkward silence in between. Nobody knew what to say. 

When the meal ended, Prof. Membrane led Peg out of the room, looking at each other with dreamy eyes. Dib and Gaz began to clear the table without question or argument. That was only because both of them anted to speculate on the stranger that had just entered their home.

"I wonder where she's from?" thought Dib aloud. Gaz picked up a plate and 'accidentally' hit him on her way to the sink. "Ow!"

"Sorry," said Gaz, not sorry at all as she put the plate into the sink.

"Anyway," said Dib, giving his sister a sideways glare, "She does look familiar to me. Vaguely, but familiar." 

Gaz grabbed two glasses of the table and stomped over to the sink before throwing them into the sink so hard they almost shattered.

"You better stop being so weird," said Gaz angrily. They finished their work in silence. During this period of time, Gaz couldn't help but wonder whether or not Dib had the same suspicion that she did. That maybe the void in her life would finally be filled, and maybe, just maybe, her prayers had been answered.

After they'd finished clearing the table and all the dishes had been either been washed or thrown into the sink, Dib and Gaz joined their father and Peg, who were occupying the couch in the living room. Prof. Membrane, who was obviously entranced by something (*cough*Peg*cough*), was brought back to reality when his children entered the room. He watched as Gaz plopped down in the chair, wearing the look of annoyance she always wore and Dib sat on the floor, cross-legged. 

"Ah! Children," said Prof. Membrane, "I was just telling yo . . . I mean . . . telling Peg that we all cooked dinner together tonight."

Peg suddenly sat up straighter on the couch. "Yes!" she replied smiling, "It was delicious. You all did a fabulous job!"

"I guess so," said Gaz darkly, crossing her arms over her chest. The smile on Peg's face flickered for a moment, but was supported by Prof. Membrane's reassuring touch as he gave her hand a squeeze.

Dib caught a glance at the entwined fingers of his father and Peg. He raised his eyebrow cautiously at this. Gaz noticed as well, and began scowling. Although this may have been what she was hoping for, suddenly the idea didn't settle so very well with her. The very thought angered her.

Suddenly, Dib decided to break the silence. "I'm sorry, exactly who are you?" Dib asked, "And how do you know my dad?"

Prof. Membrane and Peg exchanged glances. "Well," Prof. Membrane began, "I wondered when I'd have the chance to tell you two. . ."

"Tell us what?" said Gaz sharply. Prof. Membrane cleared his throat.

"Children," said Prof. Membrane, shaking with excitement, "this is Peg Membrane, your mother."

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Interesting ending for the chapter, eh? I bet you expected an evil cliffhanger. Oh well. I hope you all continue reading, I have the next chapter written, just gotta type it. J . Stay tuned and don't forget to review!!!


	3. The Reaction

Note: I make no claims to the IZ characters. They are property of the one and only JHONEN VASQUEZ.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Chapter Three

The Reaction

Dib and Gaz sat in a shocked silence. To Dib this obviously came to him as a surprise, but to Gaz, however, this was almost expected. And although thru the shock on his face, it was obvious that he was taking the news quite well. The expression on Gaz's face lead no one to believe that she felt as though she'd swallowed a large stone and it was caught in her throat.

By this time, several minutes of uncomfortable silence had passed, and Peg had begun to fidget in her seat. "Children," began Prof. Membrane, "I know this may be hard to understand . ." 

Dib suddenly interrupted him. "Mom?" he said somewhat uncertainly. Peg sighed deeply as though she had been holding her breath.

"Dib," she replied, getting up off the couch. She crossed the room and took him into her arms, her tears flowing freely. "I've missed you two so much! I am so glad to be home." Reluctant to let her little boy go, she released him and walked over to Gaz and wrapped her arms around her. Gaz suddenly felt a deep warmth within her that she'd never felt before. Sure, her father had hugged her, but if felt nothing close to a hug from a long lost mother. She eagerly returned the hug.

Peg, who had earlier noticed Gaz's resentment, was thrilled. More than anything she wanted her daughter's approval, for she too knew the feeling of not knowing her mother.

"Where have you been all this time?" asked Dib. Gaz heard this statement and immediately stiffened with her forgotten anger. Peg felt this and let go of her daughter. 

"Well," started Peg, "I . . ."

"Let's leave your mother alone, she's had a rough day," said Prof. Membrane as Peg returned to her position on the couch. Peg's eyes suddenly became downcast as if she were remembering something horrible. "Maybe you two should go to bed."

Dib looked at the digital clock that sat next to the phone. 9:07. He started to open his mouth to protest, but soon received a look from his father that clearly said that there was no point in arguing. 

"Goodnight," said Dib. He got up off the floor and headed for his room. Gaz soon followed. "Dad's acting weird," Dib whispered to Gaz. Gaz gave him an annoyed look. Dib rolled his eyes. "Ok, I know his wife - OUR mother - has returned from where ever she has been but I didn't think that this would happen!" Once again, Gaz only responded with a look.

As soon as they reached their bedrooms, Gaz quickly slipped into her room and slammed the door shut. She plopped down onto her bed, put on her headphones, and cranked up the music on her potable CD player, immediately blocking out any sound that may have wandered into her room. Dib went into his room and closed the door. He sat on his bed and opened his laptop and began clicking away, trying to take his mind off the situation that had only moments ago been presented to him. After several moments of this, he found that all he could think about was his mother. He quietly closed his laptop and creeped over to the door. He pressed his ear against the door to hear if his parents had begun talking again. Sure enough, he could hear mumbling coming from the other room. But that's all he heard, mumbling. Dib slowly reached for the knob and turned it, letting the door open a little ways. Instantaneously, the mumbling turned into audible speech and he leaned closer to get a better listen.

". . . .don't have to tell them," said Prof. Membrane, "I'm not sure they'd understand." 

"No. I don't want to lie to them, they need to know everything. I've been away from them too long!" said Peg.

Prof. Membrane sighed. "You're right."

"You know, this may sound strange, but what are our children like? I feel so uninformed." 

"Dib is just like you with his paranormal studies, and of course I . . ."

"Wish he'd chose a more legitimate field of study?" They laughed and Dib perked up. He had always wondered which side of his family he had received this particular trait from.

"You always used to say that to me," said Peg, still chuckling.

"Yes, but Dib's obsession with aliens is much more intense than yours," said Prof. Membrane.

"He sounds a lot like my brother," she said quietly. An awkward pause fell among the two adults.

"I'm very sorry I wasn't able to know him," said Prof. Membrane comfortingly.

"Yes," replied Peg, her voice somewhat shaky. Suddenly, Peg cleared her throat and she began to speak once more. "So, how's Gaz?"

"She's very much into video games, but she is obviously intelligent," replied Prof. Membrane proudly, "She doesn't seem to want anyone to know it. When she does show it, she makes me so proud of her." Although Dib did not see this, all Peg could do was smile.

"I am so very proud of our children," continued Prof. Membrane, "I don't always seem to show it, and I regret it. You know, I did my best to raise them while they were young, and I'm doing my best now."

"And no one says your not!" said Peg, "Now, we can raise our children together. Without fear." Suddenly Dib closed his door. As he slid down the wall and sat on the floor, he couldn't help but wonder what his parents had to fear. Just at that moment, a thought popped into his head. _She makes me so proud of her_, is what their father had said. Dib smiled thinking of how happy Gaz would be. She had indirectly stated on several occasions that she didn't think that their father cared about them and now he had proof that he really did care. With that thought in mind, Dib went over to his bed, lay down and fell into a somewhat eventful sleep.

The next morning at Skool, Dib sat at his desk by the window, half asleep. His position at the window brought in only polluted air, which was the only thing keeping him awake. Dib was leaning lazily on an unsteady, propped up arm, and it seemed like everytime his eyes started to droop, a gust of smoggy wind would roll in and jolt him awake. 

Dib hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. He had spent most of the night tossing in turning while horrible dreams of what his parents could possibly fear played over and over in his mind. Now, his lack of sleep was catching up with him. He didn't even notice Zim's usual outrageous questions and comments.

As a matter of fact, Zim had already spent nearly the entire morning in the restroom, beating his previous record of three hours. And although Dib was now looking in the direction of Zim's empty seat, he didn't quite register that Zim wasn't there. That is, until the classroom door was thrown open. The loud bang of the door hitting the wall brought Dib back to reality.

"Zim!" said Ms. Bitters harshly, "Where have you been?"

"I! Was in the restroom!" replied Zim, marching to his seat. After only taking two steps, he tripped over himself and fell onto the floor with a thud. Immediately, the entire classroom burst into laughter.

"Look at Zim!" yelled Sara over the noise and laughter. Zim quickly stood up and adjusted his toupee. Dib, who surprisingly wasn't apart of the class taunting, added this event to list of mental things to tell his mother about his day.

"Settle down, class," said Ms. Bitters. The noise level in the room barely lowered as Zim took his seat. Ms. Bitters growled ferociously, causing a wave of silence to settle over the students. With that, Ms. Bitters continued to enrich the immature minds of the class with useless bits of information until the lunch bell rang.

After picking up his lunch tray with a plate of mayonnaise and corn on it, he scanned the cafeteria for a place to sit. He soon caught sight of his sister, playing her GS2, pausing only every once and a while to shovel in a spoonful of lunch, as always. Dib quickly crossed the room and slipped into one of the many vacant chairs that stood around her table.

"Hey, Gaz," said Dib as he absentmindedly began eating his lunch and spying on Zim, who was picking at his lunch as usual.

"I'm not thinking of her," Gaz said immediately. Dib turned towards her and gave her a strange look.

"What?"

"Nevermind."

Dib turned his attention back towards Zim and Gaz continued to direct her attention towards her GS2. In actuality, she was just staring at the screen, oblivious to the fact that this was the sixteenth time she'd died in like the past five minutes. _I am not thinking about her_, thought Gaz,_ I'm not thinking about her._ Finally, Gaz turned off her GS2 and slammed it on the table. _Ok, so maybe I am thinking about her_, thought Gaz.

Peg was all Gaz could think about. It didn't seem to bother Dib, who appeared to be enjoying the appearance of their long lost mother. She still hadn't been able to sort out her emotions. The evening before, when everyone thought she was asleep, but what she was really doing was crying. She was crying tears of anger and tears of joy. Joy for the return of her mother and anger for Peg, who had disrupted the orderly dysfunction that was the Membrane household.

With that thought in mind, a frustrated Gaz hastily left the lunch table, leaving behind her half eaten lunch, a very confused brother, and her GS2. "What is up with her today?" thought Dib aloud as he picked up Gaz's GS2 and turned it in his hand.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Well, ok. This is kind of a sucky chapter, but I felt it was important to the story. Just keep watching for new chapters and don't forget to review! 


End file.
